Elvin Shepherd

AKA:
Shep
Birth Name:
Elvin J. Shepherd
Birth Date:
May 28, 1923
Birth Place:
Alexandria, Virginia
Death Date:
June 2, 1995
Place of Death:
Buffalo, New York
Age:
72
Cause of Death:
Undisclosed
Cemetery Name:
Forest Lawn Cemetery
Claim to Fame:
Music
Elvin "Shep" Shepherd was a legendary saxophonist whose career spanned half a century. He traveled with such big name bands as Buck Clayton, Bill Doggett, Billy Ekstine, Erskin Hawkins, Lucky Milinder, and Nat Towles. During his storied career he also accompanied such artists as Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight, Ray Price, Della Reese, and Dakota Staton.

Fun fact: Drafted into the military at the age of 18, Shep went off to camp Pickett, Virginia for basic training where he made the acquaintance of members in an Army band and started sitting in with them on officers club jobs. Shep was on a troop train headed for Camp Barkley, in Ailene, Texas and made a stop in St Louis for a 5-6 hour layover. Shep and some of the guys made for place called the Hawaiian Club to hear a new band with a promising young, but unknown trumpeter named Miles Davis, and Shep recalls, “I gave him some tips on playing the trumpet”.

Cemetery Information:

Final Resting Place:

Forest Lawn Cemetery

1411 Delaware Ave

Buffalo, New York, 14209

USA

North America

Map:

Grave Location:

Section 36, Lot 31-N 2/3, Space: 2

Grave Location Description

Behind the mausoleum about 100 feet from the road, even with the back-side glass doors to the mausoleum

Grave Location GPS

42.92832937,-78.85753384

Photos:

[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]

FAQ's

Elvin Shepherd was born on May 28, 1923.

Elvin Shepherd was born in Alexandria, Virginia.

Elvin Shepherd died on June 2, 1995.

Elvin Shepherd died in Buffalo, New York.

Elvin Shepherd was 72.

The cause of death was Undisclosed.

Elvin Shepherd's grave is in Forest Lawn Cemetery

Read More About Elvin Shepherd:

Videos Featuring Elvin Shepherd:
Elvin Shepherd plays the sax solo on the Bill Doggett 1964 track "Fatso"
Elvin Shepherd plays the sax on the Bill Doggett 1964 track "Mudcat"

See More:

Benny Goodman

popular name: Benny Goodman

date_of_death: June 13, 1986

age: 77

cause_of_death: Heart attack

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: American jazz clarinetist and bandleader known as the "King of Swing". Benny Goodman led one of the first integrated jazz groups and help start the careers of many jazz musicians including Lionel Hampton, trumpeters Ziggy Elman and Harry James, pianists Jess Stacey and Teddy Wilson, and drummer Gene Krupa. Benny Goodman, who brought jazz to Carnegie Hall and enthralled millions with renditions of ''Sweet Georgia Brown'' and ''Stompin' at the Savoy'' was also one of the first musicians to earn over $1 million a year during the height of his popularity.

Hugo Montenegro

popular name: Hugo Montenegro

date_of_death: February 6, 1981

age: 55

cause_of_death: Emphysema

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Hugo Montenegro was an American orchestra leader and composer of film soundtracks. His best-known work is derived from interpretations of the music from Spaghetti Westerns, especially his cover version of Ennio Morricone's main theme from the 1966 film The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. He composed the musical score for the 1969 Western Charro!, which starred Elvis Presley. Montenegro's electronic works were decisive and influential for the future generations of electronic musicians, giving a retro/futuristic edge by the use of the Moog synthesizer, and helped to push its popularity. His version of the main theme from Hang 'em High reached #59 in Canada. In 1968, his hit "Aces High" placed at #11 on the Billboard Year-End Chart of the Top Hits of 1968.

Sandy West

popular name: Sandy West

date_of_death: October 21, 2006

age: 47

cause_of_death: Lung cancer

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Sandy West's ferocious drumming fueled the influential all-female ’70s rock band the Runaways which she co-founded with Joan Jett. Along with band members Lita Ford, Cherie Currie and Jackie Fox, they had such hits as "Cherry Bomb", "Hollywood", "Queens of Noise" and a cover version of the Velvet Underground's "Rock & Roll". Never a major success in the United States, the Runaways became a sensation overseas, especially in Japan, thanks to the single "Cherry Bomb" as headliners with Cheap Trick and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers opening for them. The band never achieved mainstream success due to the mismanagement of pedophile / rapist (indisputable facts verified by countless victims) and manager of the Runaways Kim Fowley. After four short years the Runaways broke up and Sandy West continued sporadically in the music business but never achieved the level fame that Joan Jett and Lita Ford enjoyed post-Runaways.

Back to Top